A/N: Salutations, readers. Hope this keeps you people occupied until I can scrounge up more ideas. Franny and Lewis have been seeing each other at uni for about a week now, hope this doesnt seem too random. X3
Franny sat in her room, staring at the phone while she twisted the cord around her manicured fingers. She reached over to pick it up, hesitated, and put her hand back down. She'd been doing this for almost twenty minutes now, but she felt the urge to call was just too powerful this time. Franny bit her lip, running a hand through her hair as she looked through the address book again…not that she needed it. His phone number was imprinted on her brain.
Hey, Lewis, it's me- Franny. There's a new movie out, I was just wondering…I mean, we can go as friends… she sighed, groaning. It was a whole new experience for her- having to ask someone out instead of being asked out- and she was beginning to see men in a whole new light.
Hi there! You been the cinemas recently? I heard there's a new flick out, and I couldn't bunch together a group of friends, so I was wondering if just you and me…? She sighed at the obvious transparency of the sentence, and punched the lime green pillow in her lap. Lewis, it's Franny. I would just like to say that you're the most amazing guy I've ever met, and want to have your babies. What say you? She grinned, rolling her eyes at her own conscience. Real smooth, Franster.
Franny picked up the phone and punched in all but the last number, staring at it hard. It came as quite a shock when her mobile went crazy in that moment, jolting her from her reverie. She answered it, and was rather surprised to hear the one person she couldn't work up the courage to talk to on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Franny, it's me, Lewis."
"Oh," she blushed, and opened her mouth to speak her well-rehearsed lines. He interrupted, saying somewhat nervously:
"I need to say this before I never do, because I've never actually had much experience with this sort of thing because I'm the nerdy science kind of guy, but I think you're worth it, and it's not altogether a big deal, though it would mean a lot to me-"
"Lewis, you're rambling."
He chuckled, and exhaled. "Sorry. What I was meant to say was…do you wanna go to the movies sometime? With me?"
Franny's eyes went wide, and she squeaked, "Just...give me one second." Putting the handset down, Franny picked up her pillow and held it against her face as she squealed in delight. She kicked her legs against the bed and beamed at all the assorted plush frogs decorating her room. Only when she had calmed down sufficiently did she pick her mobile up again, lying down on her bed as she held it against her smiling face.
"Sorry about that, some minor…technical difficulties acting up. I would love to go with you."
"Really? That's fantastic!…hang on," Lewis grinned in that lovely low voice of his, and she could make out some sounds in the background of what she guessed was his office. It only just occurred to Franny that he may be doing the same victory jig she had just danced.
"I'm back. Technical difficulties, dunno what's wrong with the phones today, they're all acting up. When are you free?"
She reached over for her journal, flicking it open to this week. "Hmm. I've got nothing on tonight, and Sunday evening."
"Do you mind if we go tonight? I'm kinda busy on the weekend."
"Not a problem," Franny smiled, and they each said their goodbyes and hung up. Franny leapt to her feet again, spinning in a tight circle before her mobile rang for the second time.
"Hey, it's Lewis. I'll pick you up at eight. Same address?"
She blushed, having completely forgotten about 'minor' details of the date. "Yes. Sounds good, I'll be ready."
"Perfect. Any movie you wanna see in particular?"
"I don't suppose you're into romantic comedies?" She said sweetly. Lewis paused, and she laughed. "What about Indiana Jones, then?"
"Can't wait," Lewis grinned down the receiver.
"Cool. Now, have we forgotten anything before I hang up?"
"I believe not."
Franny rolled her eyes. "See ya at eight, Lew."
Before her mobile hit the bed covers, Franny was already halfway to her wardrobe. Now comes the tricky bit…she thought, hands on her hips as she admired her extensive collection of outfits. What to wear, what to wear. At least I've got about four hours.
Crap! He's gonna be here in five minutes! Franny thought fretfully, racing about of the bathroom with soaking wet hair and nothing on but a towel. She shut her bedroom door firmly before throwing the towel in the hamper, hurriedly trying to stuff herself into the clothes laid out on the bed. She had -after half an hour of deliberation- decided on a plain black tee underneath a form-fitting cream sweater, her brand new black jeans, ballet flats and some simple gold bracelets. Nothing too fancy, for a first date. Her hair would have to be loose, seeing as she had no time to do anything with it. Finally dressed, Franny ran over to the dresser and picked up her trademark red lipstick, applying it as fast as humanly possible, then starting on her mascara. No time for foundation, or eye shadow, eyeliner, hair…dammit! Hopefully he's running late too. She thought about this for half a second. What are you kidding? This is Cornelius Robinson, he's always so punctual, timely. It would take a miracle for him not to arrive at eight on the dot.
Lewis jumped up and down, pulling his jeans over his hips while he cursed under his breath. Reaching for the white dress shirt as soon as he was sure his zipper was all the way up, he wriggled into it without even pausing to undo the buttons. Glancing in the mirror and grumbling at his unruly blonde hair -which he wasn't even going to bother trying to tame- Lewis pulled on his standard accessories; watch, silver ring (a birthday present from Lucille), and debated in his head over a tie. Definitely not. He quickly tugged his runners on, tying them up hastily as he checked the time. 8:05. Bugger it.
Lewis grabbed his keys and the black jacket he wore everywhere, tearing out of the room at breakneck speed. He had just exited the massive observatory when he realised his wallet and phone where still in his room, and his parents didn't even know he was going out that night. Storming back inside, he raced back to his bedroom and shoved the offending objects in his pockets. Wait. I'll need my glasses, too, it would be utterly worthless to go to the movies without them. Flicking his eyes over every surface, Lewis groaned, and ran up into his laboratory. They weren't on the desk, or near the unfinished Travel Tube...so...he checked his inside pocket. Feeling the familiar hard glass against his hand, Lewis sighed and jogged back down the stairs, hurrying over to the kitchen two floors away.
"Mum, where are you?" He called, still running.
"In here, honey. You sound rushed," Lucille added, walking from the living room holding some dirty plates. She saw his flushed face, disgruntled expression and good clothes, and beamed.
"Oh! Who's the lucky girl?" She smiled, and he marvelled for a moment at how well she could read him. Or maybe it was just guys in general.
"Franny Framagucci."
"Well, you have fun. When are you picking her up?"
Lewis looked at his watch, and moaned. "Ten minutes ago." She looked only slightly surprised at this, and he kissed her cheek before tearing off again. "Don't wait up!" He yelled over his shoulder.
Excellent. All make-up emergencies covered for, and hair slightly less bizarre. You have my permission to come now Lewis, Franny smiled, regarding her figure in the dress mirror approvingly. She looked up at the clock, and was rather startled to read 8:15. Wow. I hope nothing's happened, she thought nervously, picking up her handbag.
"Gaston? Is there anyone out the front?" She yelled, picking her way through her brother's trash in the hallway, and down the wooden stairway into the living room.
"Why? You waiting for someone?" He yelled back, preoccupied with his latest video game. Their mother looked up from the ironing board, and eyed Franny's outfit.
"You didn't tell me you were going anywhere tonight," She said sternly, and Franny rolled her eyes.
"Mum, I'm only enough now to go on a date without your approval. Did you hear a car pull up?"
Mrs. Framagucci stopped ironing. "You didn't tell me it was a date, either. I thought you didn't have a boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend. Not yet, anyway," Franny blushed, and a distant Oooo! could be heard from Gaston's room. Franny stomped out into the entrance hall, annoyed. She checked her watch, as her mother followed her while folding up a shirt.
"You still haven't told me who it is," She said, eyes trained on her daughter. Franny sighed.
"Lewis Robinson. You happy now?"
Her mother dropped the shirt. "That famous inventor?"
"Yes. Now excuse me," Franny muttered, as headlights illuminated the blinds in their front window.
"Are you being serious?"
"Yes, mum, I'm going now, so talk later-"
"-Franny Jane Framagucci, don't talk to me like that, I'm only asking-"
"Yeah, well, we're both late, so I need to go. Cya later," Franny said angrily, almost wrenching the door open. Lewis had his car door open and was about to step out it seemed, and she waved a hand before getting the door herself.
"Hey."
"Hey, Franny. You look fantastic," He smiled, gazing appreciatively at her while she buckled her seatbelt. She couldn't help but smile back, putting her nosy mother to the back of her mind for now.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself. I'm glad you were late by the way, I was kind of behind the times myself."
"Sorry about that, I called you at work and only just got home in time for a shower. No biggie, we still have about...five minutes before we have to sneak in. Plenty of time."
Franny giggled, and sat back in the comfy seat as they veered around a corner in companionable silence. It would take something remarkable not to enjoy this night.
"He's your son," Marion told Indy as they sank deeper into the quick sand.
"There's a shocker," Lewis muttered, licking chocolate off his fingers. Franny shushed him, watching Indiana's shocked expression as Mutt came back with a snake for them to grab onto.
"Bite him," Lewis whispered to the snake on-screen, and Franny rolled her eyes.
Her mobile rang, and they both glanced at her handbag as 'Cars' by Gary Numan sounded throughout the cinema.
"'Cars', eh?"
"Great song, you can't deny it. Hang on," she muttered, flicking the phone open as multiple annoyed people began throughing popcorn in her direction. "H'lo?" She whispered, mouthing 'sorry' to the people around her.
"Franny, what the hell are you doing with that nerd?" A familiar, also whispering voice answered.
"...Zack?"
"Yeah. What are you playing at?"
"Where are you?"
"Two rows back."
Franny glanced behind her, alarmed to see a large number of her friends all staring at the head of yellow hair beside her.
"What's the problem?"
"Definitely not your type. He's a geek."
"He is not. And maybe 'my type' doesn't have to be specified by you," she whispered roughly, and Lewis raised an eyebrow, his baby blue eyes still following the action on-screen.
"How much is he paying per hour for you to sit next to him?" Zack smirked down the phone.
"Excuse me?" Franny's tone was icy, and Lewis looked at her in concern. She smiled grimly at him, then turned her attention back to the phone. "I can't believe you just said that."
"Whatever. Feel free to sit back here if he gets too boring," Zack said, and terminated the call. Franny glowered at the phone, resisting the urge to turn around and point a certain finger. Sighing, she put her phone on silent and chucked it back in her handbag, leaning back into the seat with pale hands gripping the armrests. She tried to follow the movie but couldn't muster the brainpower required. Lewis' arm was lying next to hers, and she absently entwined their fingers, liking the feel of her smaller hand in his. He smiled softly, turning to look her in the eyes for a moment. Franny melted in his gaze, and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Franny, wake up," Lewis laughed, shaking her gently. She looked up groggily, her eyes focusing on the closing credits of the movie.
"How much did I miss?"
"Just about all of it."
She sighed, and Lewis rubbed her hand. "I really wanted to see it, too. Sorry," she aplogised meekly.
"Fine by me if you ever wanna watch it again, I thought it was pretty good. Except for the aliens."
"What? Aliens? In an Indiana Jones film?"
"Yep."
"You big liar."
He smiled, shaking his head. "Fine, don't believe me then. You hungry?"
She nodded, and they made their slow way back into the carpark. Franny kept looking around for her 'friends', but they had apparently dissapeared, and she was thankful.
"How tired are you? I can shout you dinner any night you want, but you were dead to the world in there; it's fine if you want to go home."
"I don't know...I really love being here with you Lewis, I'm just exhausted."
He grinned, unlocking the car doors. "I get that feeling all the time, it's a miracle I haven't keeled over tonight. C'mon, let's get you home."
The trip back was fun, playing 20 questions and singing old tunes from the radio at glass-shattering volumes.
"YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN," Lewis yelled, as Franny conducted from the passenger seat. Both couldn't stop laughing, and Lewis had had to swerve to avoid two cars in the suburbs.
"...YOUNG AND SWEET, ONLY SEVENTEEEEEEEEEN!"
"DANCING QUEEN, FEEL THE BEAT OF THE TAMBORINNNNNNNNNNNNE!!" Franny shouted almost drunkenly, feeling her cheeks were stretched to their limit.
"Tamborine? I always thought it was mandarin for some strange reason."
"'Feel the beat of the mandarin?!'" Franny howled in laughter, and Lewis just shook his head.
"I was young and stupid last time I heard this song, forgive me," He grinned, his voice slightly hoarse from all their yelling.
Franny was still whacking her fists on the dashoard, feeling extremely glad that she'd worn water-proof makeup- the tears of mirth couldn't stop coming. She didn't even remember what was so hilarious, but the overall happy vibe she felt was tremendous.
"We're here, princess," Lewis smiled over at her, pulling up into her driveway. She moaned in self-pity.
"On second thoughts, I'm starving. What if-"
"Oh no you don't," he laughed, jumping down onto the pavement. Franny sat in the ute smiling at him while he walked around to her door.
"Why thankyou, kind sir," She beamed, as he opened the door and bowed with one arm to his chest. She stepped out gracefully as always, never taking her eyes off the young man in front of her. "I had a great time. When I wasn't snoring against your shoulder, of course."
"Don't worry, the snoring was beautiful and went perfectly with the Indiana Jones' theme song. You even kept in key and everything, it was amazing." Franny playfully smacked his arm, and Lewis laughed.
"The other thing I wanted to say was, I'm so sorry about that phone call, I know you knew who Zack was talking about..." Franny said seriously, twisting a bangle around her arm. Lewis shook his head, smiling.
"It was the best feeling when you defended me like that. You really are the most wonderful girl I've met," He spoke in barely more than a whisper, and lifted a hand to brush a some flyaway hair off her face. Franny's heart swelled at his words, and she took a step closer so they were almost chest-to-chest. "I think the world of you," He continued softly, taking her hands in his. Franny gripped them tightly when he bent his head town towards her, and her eyes fluttered shut as she realised his intentions-
"Franny, if that's you, mum says that it's about time you came home, and you have a pile of washing to put away. Oh, hi, Cornelius."
They both glared at Gaston, who swaggered back inside smugly, knowing he had interrupted something. Franny opened her mouth to apologise for her idiot brother, but Lewis shrugged.
"We can get him back later." She smiled evilly, and he smirked. "I wouldn't want to be Gaston right about now."
Franny pulled his arm around her waist. "Forget about him. Where were we?"
Lewis rolled his eyes, smiling down at her. "Someone's impatient."
"Get used to it, buddy," Franny laughed, standing on tip-toes as she pulled him towards her. Lewis tilted his head to the side as the gap between them quickly disappeared-
Rinnnnng.
"Dammit, I'm sorry, Franny-"
Rinnn-
"What?" Lewis said roughly into his phone, turning around to answer it while Franny stood with her hands on her hips.
"Bad time?" Lucille said timidly.
"Yes."
"I'll talk to you later, then."
"Yep. 'Bye."
Lewis switched his phone off, and blushed as he turned back around to face Franny. "Not our night, tonight."
"Yeah," She murmured, and they avoided each other's eyes. The awkward silence between them was lifted when the front door opened again.
"Franny?"
"...Yeah, mum?"
"Are you two gonna stay out there forever or do you want something to eat?"
Lewis smiled at her, and politely declined. He gripped Franny's hand again briefly after their goodbyes, and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll see you soon."
Franny sighed pensively, and hugged herself as he pulled out from the driveway. As soon as he had rounded the corner, she turned on her mother angrily.
"Thanks a lot!"
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Framagucci asked innocently, although she already knew perfectly what she had disrupted.
"You just had to butt in!"
"You two are so cute together, you know that?"
"-And sending out Gaston was completely unnecessary."
"He couldn't stop laughing. It's a shame Art doesn't live here anymore, he would have gotten a kick out of it too."
Franny stormed upstairs, kicking off her shoes and almost running past her brother's room.
"Franny and Lewis, sitting in a tree..." Gaston sang loudly.
"Oh, grow up already," Franny muttered, locking herself in the sanctuary of her room. She sat on the bed, looking at the frogs in the large glass fish tank opposite her. Sighing, she took her phone from her handbag and was only minutely surprised when 12 new messages flashed up onscreen. Franny glanced through the incredulous 'was that you I saw with Geekus?' kind of notes, lying down on her bedcovers. She didn't even care what her 'friends' said; she'd had the greatest time of her life that night. Maybe you can actually stay awake next time. If there is a next time, she thought absently, as she drifted off to sleep fully dressed.
"Thankyou, mother," Lewis called sarcastically into the kitchen as he entered, chucking his jacket on the dimly-lit counter. Lucille cringed; she hated it when he was annoyed with her.
"Please don't be mad, how was I supposed to know you were busy?"
"You couldn't, I know. I just...yeah. Sorry," He muttered, but couldn't keep the smile from his face as he strode over to the fridge.
"What are you so happy about, then? Did it go well?"
"Mmm," He said around the orange juice carton. She pointed to a glass, but he finished off the box in record time and threw it in the bin. "I guess you could say that. Well, I'm off, I had an idea about the Travel Tubes when I was watching the movie. See you tomorrow," Lewis said as he walked from the kitchen. Lucille sighed, wishing boys' hormones wouldn't stop them from having some normal family conversation. Whoever you are, Miss Framagucci, you better take good care of our boy, she thought pensively.
A/N: Sorry for all the jumping about, but it was long enough already without filling in all the gaps. I looked at the little bar on the side and my jaw dropped. Lol...couldn't think of a really sweet ending, kinda lame, but my mind is elsewhere. Any ideas where this could be headed, anyone? I like the whole jealousy plot that one reviewer gave (you know who you are), so any thoughts along that line would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
